Theobald Fichtner, born 1212, a date that many deemed auspicious. In his early youth he was trained in the martial arts of the medieval period and became renowned locally as a capable and strong warrior. In 1236, he routed a group of bandits who had attacked one of the villages of his father"s estates, killing three men single-handedly and dragging two more to the main square where he summarily hacked off their heads, in full view of the gathered populace. From that moment those peasants and villeins beneath him held him in great awe and respect. In 1240 his father, Count Frederick Fichtner died, and Theobald inherited his father"s entire domain. In 1242 he joined the Albegensian Crusade and travelled to the south of France. With the fall of Montségur and the subsequent m******e of the Cat
